When Will The Mornings And Evenings Get Lighter Again?

When will the mornings and evenings get lighter again?

We've got through the worst of it

CommentsNewsRuby Michael14:10, 11 Jan 2022

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Despite making it through the new year, it can still feel as if we're a long way from not having to wake up and go to sleep in total darkness.

With dull, miserable mornings making it that much harder to get out of bed, and evenings written off thanks to late afternoon sunsets, many of us often can't wait to see the back of Winter.

The good news is that we're well on the way to seeing lighter mornings and evenings, making the long slog to Spring and Summer that bit more bearable.

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With days only getting darker up until the Winter Solstice, which we have swiftly passed (as it happened on December 21 2021,) the length of our days can only increase as we enter the Spring and Summer.

Here's when we can expect to see longer, lighter days again and why exactly this happens.

What is the winter solstice?

The winter solstice is when the Earth’s axis is tilted away from the sun, marking the shortest day and longest night in 365 days in the Northern Hemisphere.

Usually happening between December 20-23, the shortest day of the year fell on December 21 2021.

On this day, London typically sees around seven hours, 49 minutes and 42 seconds of sunlight, starting with an 8.04am sunrise, but this will vary depending on where in the UK you’re based.

When does it start getting light again?

A few days after the winter solstice, days will start getting longer by an average of two minutes and seven seconds every day until we have a full extra hour of daylight by January 18, 2022.

From this point onwards and every four weeks after, we'll continue to get an hour or so of sunshine lighting up the day.

However, the evenings will remain without much sun until March.

During the spring equinox, there will be equal amounts of daylight to night time.

The spring equinox will happen on March 20, 2022. From this point, you’ll find that days are longer by four minutes with each passing day, and the sun will begin setting only after 6pm.

The evenings will then keep getting lighter until the summer solstice – or longest day of the year – on June 21, 2022.

After this, evenings will slowly begin getting shorter again and the cycle will continue.

It’s worth noting that how much light we get also depends on clocks going forward in March and back again in October.

What is the Equation of Time?

Most would assume that days start getting lighter immediately after the shortest day, but it's due to the Equation of Time that this doesn't happen.

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The equation relates to the earth’s orbit and axis because of which solar noon doesn’t always occur at noon on our clocks every day.

In short, this means that though our days are measured in 24 hours, actual days can be slightly over.

This phenomenon also means that there will be a discrepancy between the solstice and when it actually starts getting lighter in the mornings.

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The delay from the Equation of Time is why days start getting lighter from January, even if the solstice happens in December.

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